Friday, January 6, 2012

First Santa

I was four years old when I met Santa for the first time in 1961. Dad was thirty-four and Mom was twenty-three. They loved each other and they wanted their three little kids to have the best they could give. We didn’t become a religious family for another six years so those first Christmases were wholly secular. Santa was as magical as it got in those days.

One December day, my folks bundled us into the car -- an orange Mercury that later would lose reverse gear yet be deemed still drivable by our low income family – and we set off over the river and through the woods. “Santa’s house” turned out to be the back room of a bar where Dad occasionally stopped on his way home from work. My expectations of red-nosed reindeer and frolicking elves melted away as I was herded through a dim place of strange smells and unfamiliar voices. By the time I met the jolly old saint, I was in no mood to sit on his lap. He probably asked me, “What do you want for Christmas, little fella?” I have no idea what I said, though my first memory of a present under a tree is a red metal fire truck.

Many Christians decry the secularization of Christmas, but for the children of their secular neighbors, Santa may serve as the first hint of an unseen world that exists beyond their own and is governed by someone good. Biblical scholars use the word “mystery” to refer to that which is indescribable in human terms. Maybe I’m getting old and sentimental enough to rejoice that, for some people, St. Nicholas serves as a pointer to a realm where faith, hope, and love really do have the last word.

It’s true that “Ho, ho, ho” doesn’t carry the same power as “Hallelujah” and being good is not the same as being holy. We fear for a society awash in selfish consumption and driven by well-crafted marketing meant to separate people from their money. While Jesus Christ demonstrated self-sacrificing love, Santa can become a resource for self-indulgence. It is understandable that Christians should want to counter what can be a significant distraction from the Gospel and otherwise prove how far short Santa falls from Jesus.

But let’s not “Bah-humbug” too much. When else besides Christmas do people reflect on the fact that they don’t live in a world where all dreams come true, but wish they did? In times when authority figures break promise after promise, wouldn’t it be great if there really was someone who knew the difference between naughty and nice? Aren’t we sad that there aren’t enough toys or food or housing for everyone? Wouldn’t we welcome a magic bag of endless resources?

History teaches us that Santa wasn’t presented as a substitute for Jesus, but rather as a friend of his. Here is how one mother shared with her three-year old daughter: “Once there was a special man who lived a long time ago. We call him St. Nicholas, because saint means someone who belongs to God, just like we do. In Nicholas' town, there were families who didn't have enough food, clothes, or toys. Nicholas used his money to buy these for the poor children. He didn't want them to be embarrassed by his gifts, so he gave secretly. He also told everyone about Jesus and how much God loved them. Many people became Christians because of what St. Nicholas said. Because of how much St. Nicholas loved Jesus, and because of the many gifts he gave, we still remember him at Christmastime and give presents to each other. It all reminds us of the very best gift: when God the Father gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation.”

And so I’m glad that my parents -- even though at the time they were unaware of the true nature of the God who loved them -- introduced me long ago to a world of possibility and goodness that lay just beyond my own. That visit to Santa became the first step on my path to faith in the One who can make a saint out of any of us.